Chapter 16
Samuel's gentle tone couldn't hide his sharp edge.
"Samuel!"
Benjamin's face darkened. His already unfriendly expression turned even colder: "Who let you in? Get out!"
"I'm not Chase. I'm not afraid of you." Samuel was clearly used to his icy demeanor and remained completely unfazed. Instead, his smiling eyes landed on Evelyn.
His gaze was meaningful.
Evelyn froze for a moment before realizing she was still sitting on Benjamin's lap!
Her face exploded into a fiery red.
She struggled to get up, but Benjamin held her even tighter.
"Can't you see Ms. Thomas doesn't want to be close to you? Let her go."
"I don't want you coming in even more."
He helplessly spread his hands. "No wonder you and I are good friends—turns out we're both equally annoying."
Samuel was clearly talking about things unrelated to Evelyn, yet somehow every sentence pointed back to her.
Evelyn felt even more uncomfortable, and Benjamin's expression grew darker.
"When you're living under someone else's roof, you should know your place. Believe it or not, I can make you sleep on the street tonight."
"That heartless?" Samuel showed no signs of backing down. "Then I definitely can't leave. You really won't take me in? At least here, I'll have shelter from the wind and rain."
As Samuel and Evelyn went back and forth, Evelyn gradually pieced things together.
Samuel's sudden arrival in Emerald City was to avoid something with the Harris family. Had he likely been kicked out by them?
The White family was in business, the Harris family in politics—both were prominent families in Silverlight City.
And Samuel, as the youngest son of the Harris family, didn't need to shoulder family responsibilities and was even considered the family's weak spot. He'd been raised to be carefree and willful since childhood.
How could someone like him suddenly be kicked out?
What could he have done that was so serious?
"Why is Ms. Thomas spacing out? Could it be that this welcome dinner is fake, and you're actually looking for an excuse to have Benjamin meet Matthew, to get Benjamin to let them off the hook?"
Samuel's smiling voice interrupted Evelyn's thoughts. She looked up to meet his sharp gaze.
Evelyn knew in her heart that even Stella didn't believe she'd just given up on Matthew like that, let alone anyone else.
She raised her hand to wipe away tears: "Mr. Harris is overthinking it. I was just thinking about what to treat you to."
"In a place like Silverlight City, there's no shortage of anything, especially not food."
"How about some Emerald City specialties then? Seafood?"
Evelyn's soft voice still carried a faint sob, making her sound pitiful.
"He's basically a pig—he'll enjoy anything. Don't think too much about it." Benjamin used a tissue to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.
His movements were gentle, his gaze full of concern.
Samuel felt that Benjamin hadn't fallen hard enough yet.
He turned his head away, letting out a light snort: "Even if I'm a pig, I'm the most handsome pig. Unlike some people who look human but have no brain at all. One look from someone else and they're completely hooked."
Benjamin: "..."
Evelyn: "..."
They weren't sure exactly who Samuel was talking about, but both guilty parties briefly averted their eyes.
"I'm going to touch up my makeup."
She pushed at Benjamin. This time, he didn't stop her, just quietly acknowledged.
After she left the office, Samuel's voice took on a more serious tone.
"I heard she's stopped resisting you lately? Has her conscience finally kicked in, or has Matthew fed her some new line?"
He'd been in Silverlight City for years, but because the White family and Harris family were old friends, and he and Benjamin had a life-or-death bond, he knew everything that happened in Emerald City.
"I don't know," Benjamin spoke calmly.
Samuel cursed: "Are you out of your mind? She screwed you over so many times for that bastard Matthew. Now you don't even know what's going on, and you've already let her move into your villa?"
"She's my fiancée."
That one sentence shut down everything Samuel wanted to say.
Samuel rolled his eyes: "I can't be bothered with you. Since she's willing to treat you well, then just keep a close eye on her."
Since he couldn't dig Benjamin's heart out, he could only lower his standards.
As long as Evelyn didn't do anything inappropriate with Matthew, there was room for everything else.
The largest restaurant in Emerald City.
The restaurant was built by the sea, with windows overlooking the vast ocean—a refreshing sight.
"Ms. Thomas is really loaded. This table of dishes isn't cheap."
Samuel looked at the dishes the servers brought up, smiling with narrowed eyes: "I didn't expect you to spend so much on my welcome dinner."
He'd been to Emerald City plenty of times, and because of Evelyn and Benjamin's relationship, he'd met Evelyn quite a few times, too.
But the number of times he'd peacefully shared a meal with her, he could count on one hand, let alone a dinner arranged by Evelyn herself.
Her face reddened with some embarrassment.
"Can't even eating shut you up? If you don't want to eat, get out." Benjamin gave him no face, only worried about Evelyn feeling wronged.
"Valuing romance over friendship to this extent—you've really reached new heights. I just wonder, how does Ms. Thomas treat you?" Samuel maintained his gentle appearance, seemingly not caring at all what others said.
But Evelyn couldn't help caring about others' opinions.
Especially now that she'd realized Benjamin's worth, she wanted even more to gain recognition from those around him.
"Mr. Harris," she stood up, holding a wine glass, and said to Samuel, "I made plenty of mistakes in the past, but I've thought it all through now. It won't happen again. Let me offer you this drink as an apology..."
"No need."
He waved his hand with a smile, interrupting: "Sure, in the past when we ate together, you'd either suddenly flip the table or smash a window before we finished, but those weren't really big deals. An apology isn't necessary."
He clearly wasn't accepting her apology and had even dragged up her past embarrassments.
He remembered how Evelyn, in her efforts to break off the engagement with Benjamin, had spared no effort in badmouthing herself in front of him.
Throwing plates and bowls was nothing.
Thinking back on all those self-destructive things she'd done, Evelyn wanted to travel back in time and slap herself twice. How could she have been that stupid?
Without Benjamin's protection, she'd have been left for dead long ago.
She stood there, still holding her wine glass in the same position, just with a somewhat stiff smile on her face.
"I'll drink it for you." Benjamin took the glass from Evelyn's hand, drained it in one gulp, then stared fixedly at Samuel.
With Benjamin protecting Evelyn to this extent, what could he do?
Samuel picked up his wine glass, helplessly bringing it to his lips.
But before he could take it further, the private room door was suddenly pushed open, and Matthew burst in on a wheelchair.
Both of Matthew's legs were in casts, and his hospital gown hung loosely on him.
Matthew's face showed a sickly pallor, yet his cheeks were flushed with an eerie red—he looked completely disheveled.
Evelyn was startled by Matthew's sudden intrusion, then froze at the sight of him.
When she'd gone to the hospital that day, he hadn't been in good shape, but he was nowhere near this bad.
Just a few days, and Matthew had become as disheveled as a homeless person?
"What exactly do you want?"
He wheeled himself in front of Evelyn, heavy alcohol fumes hitting her face: "Breaking my legs wasn't enough—you had to ruin Sophia's reputation too! How can your heart be so cruel!"
"She's a public figure. Are you trying to completely destroy her!"